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When the medical courier delivers the cord blood collection kit to the cord blood bank, it is quickly processed to ensure the continued viability of the stem cells and immune system cells found in the cord blood. Firstly, a sample of the cord blood is tested for microbiological contamination, and the mother’s blood is tested for infectious diseases. As these tests are being conducted, the cord blood is processed to reduce the number of red blood cells and its total volume and isolate the stem cells and immune cells.
For these and other reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and many physicians do not recommend private cord blood banking except as “directed donations” in cases where a family member already has a current need or a very high potential risk of needing a bone marrow transplant. In all other cases, the AAP has declared the use of cord blood as “biological insurance” to be “unwise.” [Read the AAP’s news release at http://www.aap.org/advocacy/archives/julcord.htm ]
A cord blood industry report by Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation found that, among developed nations, cord blood banking cost is only 2% of the annual income of those households likely to bank.
As a mother-to-be, you can decide that your baby’s first act may be saving another person’s life. You can do this by choosing to donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood to the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank’s First Gift℠ Donation Program.
At present, the odds of undergoing any stem cell transplant by age 70 stands at one in 217, but with the continued advancement of cord blood and related stem and immune cell research, the likelihood of utilizing the preserved cord blood for disease treatment will continue to grow. Read more about cord blood as a regenerative medicine here.
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Today, many conditions may be treatable with cord blood as part of a stem cell transplant, including various cancers and blood, immune, and metabolic disorders. Preserving these cells now may provide your family potential treatment options in the future.
In a report to the HRSA Advisory Council, scientists estimated that the chances of a pediatric patient finding a cord blood donor in the existing Be the Match registry are over 90 percent for almost all ethnic groups.
Hematopoietic stem cells can be used to treat more than 70 types of diseases, including diseases of the immune system, genetic disorders, neurologic disorders, and some forms of cancer, including leukemia and lymphoma. For some of these diseases, stem cells are the primary treatment. For others, treatment with stem cells may be used when other treatments have not worked or in experimental research programs.
First isolated in 1998, there is a lot of controversy around acquiring embryonic stem cells. Thankfully, we can also acquire the stem cells that form just a little bit later down the road, like in the umbillical cord tissue. These stem cells, known as adult stem cells, stay with us for life. (Later, we will learn why not all adult stem cells are equal.) Adult stem cells are more limited in the types of cells they can become, something known as being tissue-specific, but share many of the same qualities. Hematopoietic stem cells (Greek “to make blood” and pronounced he-mah-toe-po-ee-tic) found in the umbilical cord’s blood, for instance, can become any of the different types of blood cells found in the body and are the foundation of our immune system. Another example is mesenchymal (meh-sen-ki-mal) stem cells, which can be found in the umbilical cord tissue and can become a host of cells including those found in your nervous system, sensory organs, circulatory tissues, skin, bone, cartilage, and more.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is conducting a pioneering FDA-regulated phase I/II clinical trial to compare the safety and effectiveness of two forms of stem cell therapy in children diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study aims to compare the safety and efficacy of an intravenous infusion of autologous cord blood stem cells to bone marrow stem cells.
For these and other reasons, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and many physicians do not recommend private cord blood banking except as “directed donations” in cases where a family member already has a current need or a very high potential risk of needing a bone marrow transplant. In all other cases, the AAP has declared the use of cord blood as “biological insurance” to be “unwise.” [Read the AAP’s news release at http://www.aap.org/advocacy/archives/julcord.htm ]
Umbilical cord blood contains haematopoietic (blood) stem cells. These cells are able to make the different types of cell in the blood – red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Haematopoietic stem cells, purified from bone marrow or blood, have long been used in stem cell treatments for leukaemia, blood and bone marrow disorders, cancer (when chemotherapy is used) and immune deficiencies.
Parents who wish to donate cord blood are limited by whether there is a public bank that collects donations from the hospital or clinic where their baby will be born. Search our list of public banks in your country. Parents who wish to store cord blood and/or cord tissue for their family can find and compare private banks in your country. Family banks usually offer payment plans or insurance policies to lower the cost of cord blood banking.
Like most transplants, the stem cells must be a genetic match with the patients to be accepted by the body’s immune system. It goes without saying that a patient’s own cord blood will be a 100% match. The second highest chance of a genetic match comes from siblings.
Cord Blood Registry offers two ways to save your newborn’s stem cells, and convenient payment options to fit your family’s needs. CBR recognizes that each family’s budget is unique. As a result, CBR does not take a one-size-fits-all approach to pricing and payments for cord blood and tissue banking. Calculate your stem cell banking costs and CBR will recommend payment plans that may fit your family’s budget.
While all three stem cell sources are used in similar procedures, they each have advantages and drawbacks. Bone marrow transplants are the traditional form of therapy, but peripheral blood cells are becoming more popular, since doctors often get more stem cells from the bloodstream.

We have 12- and 24-month in-house payment plans to spread the initial cost out over time. They require no credit check and begin with little money down. Starting at approximately $2.50 a day, you can help safeguard your baby’s future. After the term of the payment plan, you are then only responsible for the annual storage fee, which begins at approximately $12 a month depending on which services you have chosen.
The therapeutic potential of stem cells from the umbilical cord is vast. Cord blood is already being used in the treatment of nearly 80 life-threatening diseases,2 and researchers continue to explore it’s potential. Duke University Medical Center is currently using cord blood stem cells in a Phase II clinical trial to see if it benefits kids with Autism. The number of clinical trials using cord tissue stem cells in human patients has increased to approximately 150 since the first clinical trial in 2007. Cord tissue stem cells are also being studied for the potential use in kids with Autism – a Phase I Clinical Trial is underway.
Please note: ClinImmune Labs – University of Colorado Cord Blood Bank – CariCord’s activities for New York State residents are limited to collection, processing, and long-term storage of umbilical cord tissue. Possession of a New York State license for such collection, processing, and long-term storage does not indicate approval or endorsement of possible future uses or future suitability of umbilical cord tissue-derived cells.
Donating your baby’s cord blood to a public bank is always free. The limitations of the public banking network in the United States are: they only collect donations at large birthing hospitals in ethnically diverse communities, the mother must pass a health screening, they prefer registration by 34 weeks of pregnancy, and they only save the largest cord blood collections. The potential reward of public donation is that your baby could Be The Match to save a life!
Unlike some other cord blood banks, Cryo-Cell does not charge any upfront enrollment fees. You’ll be charged only after your baby’s cord blood and cord tissue have been processed and we’ve confirmed that the collection meets our high standards for viability and the number of stem cells. If for any reason your collection falls below our standards, we will notify you promptly and let you make a decision whether to continue to cryo-preserve your baby’s stem cells. Our processing fees include the first year of storage. After the first year, you can continue to pay for the storage annually or pre-pay for storage at a significantly discounted price and for added convenience. Our annual storage fees are fixed for the life of your contract.
^ Roura, S; Pujal, JM; Gálvez-Montón, C; Bayes-Genis, A (2 July 2015). “The role and potential of umbilical cord blood in an era of new therapies: a review”. Stem cell research & therapy. 6: 123. doi:10.1186/s13287-015-0113-2. PMC 4489204 . PMID 26133757.

Cord blood contains mesenchymal stem cells but is much more abundant in hematopoietic stem cells. Cord tissue, on the other hand, contains some hematopoietic stem cells but is much richer in mesenchymal stem cells. Cord tissue, or Wharton’s jelly, is the protective layer that covers the umbilical cord’s vein and other vessels. Its MSCs can become a host of cells including those found in the nervous system, sensory organs, circulatory tissues, skin, bone, cartilage, and more. MSCs are currently undergoing clinical trials for sports injuries, heart and kidney disease, ALS, wound healing and autoimmune disease. As with cord blood, cord tissue is easily collected at the type of birth and holds great potential in regenerative medicine. Learn more about cord tissue banking here.
Cord Blood Registry’s Newborn Possibilities Program® serves as a catalyst to advance newborn stem cell medicine and science for families that have been identified with a medical need to potentially use newborn stem cells now or in the near future. NPP offers free cord blood and cord tissue processing and five years of storage to qualifying families. To date, the Newborn Possibilities Program has processed and saved stem cells for nearly 6,000 families.

Your free donation will be part of a program that is saving liv​es and supporting research to discover new uses for cord blood stem cells. Units that meet criteria for storage are made available to anyone, anywhere in the world, who needs a stem cell transplant.
When you bank your child’s cord blood with ViaCord, your child will have access to stem cells that are a perfect genetic match. Some cancers like neuroblastoma are autologous treatments. Ongoing regenerative medicine clinical trials are using a child’s own stem cells for conditions like autism and cerebral palsy. 104, 109 To date, of the 400+ families that have used their cord blood 44% were for regenerative medicine research.
While the stem cell count is smaller during a cord blood transplant, these cells multiply quickly, and researchers are studying new methods to increase cells naturally. Compared to bone marrow, cord blood cells multiply faster and don’t require an exact match type to complete a successful transplant. Some techniques medical experts are testing to increase the amount of stem cells include:
There are so many things to think about when you have a child. One of them is the blood from your baby’s umbilical cord (which connects the baby to the mother while in the womb). It used to be thrown away at birth, but now, many parents store the blood for the future health of their child. Should you do it?

As a mother-to-be, you can decide that your baby’s first act may be saving another person’s life. You can do this by choosing to donate your baby’s umbilical cord blood to the St. Louis Cord Blood Bank’s First Gift℠ Donation Program.
HSCs can become any type of blood cell or cellular blood component inside the body, including white blood cells and red blood cells. These cells are found in umbilical cord blood and are multipotent, which means they can develop into more than one cell type.
It depends on who you ask. Although commercial cord blood banks often bill their services as “biological insurance” against future diseases, the blood doesn’t often get used. One study says the chance that a child will use their cord blood over their lifetime is between 1 in 400 and 1 in 200,000.
Donating cord blood to a public bank adds to the supply and can potentially help others. Donating to a public bank is especially important for ethnic minorities, who are not well represented in cord blood banks. Public cord blood donation increases the chance of all groups finding a match.
Stem cells can be used in treatments for many different types of diseases. One of the main places young stem cells are found is in cord blood, which can be stored at birth and saved for future use if needed. Stem cells are also found in other places in the human body, including blood and bone marrow.

CBR uses the AutoExpress automated processing method. AutoExpress (AXP) reduces the chance of human error and provides consistent results in the reduction of certain blood components. It also provides quick and accurate data tracking. Cord Blood Registry is the only cord blood bank to have adopted the AXP processing method.
Once donated cord blood is listed on the Be the Match registry, doctors can access it to treat patients who need stem cell transplants. Public cord blood banks keep the names of both mothers and babies confidential to protect the privacy of families.
Each cord blood bank has different directions for returning the consent form. Some banks may ask you to mail the consent form along with the health history forms or to bring the original consent form with you to the hospital. Other banks may have you finish the form at the hospital. Follow the directions from your public cord blood bank.
Along with cord blood, Wharton’s jelly and the cord lining have been explored as sources for mesenchymal stem cells (MSC),[19] and as of 2015 had been studied in vitro, in animal models, and in early stage clinical trials for cardiovascular diseases,[20] as well as neurological deficits, liver diseases, immune system diseases, diabetes, lung injury, kidney injury, and leukemia.[21]
As most parents would like to bank their babies’ cord blood to help safeguard their families, it is often the cost of cord blood banking that is the one reason why they do not. Most cord blood banks have an upfront fee for collecting, processing and cryo-preserving the cord blood that runs between $1,000 and $2,000. This upfront fee often also includes the price of the kit provided to collect and safely transport the cord blood, the medical courier service used to expedite the kit’s safe shipment, the testing of the mother’s blood for any infectious diseases, the testing of the baby’s blood for any contamination, and the cost of the first full year of storage. There is then often a yearly fee on the baby’s birthday for continued storage that runs around $100 to $200 a year.
The majority of programs that accept cord blood donations require the mother to sign up in advance. In the united States, the current requirement is to sign up by the 34th week of pregnancy. This cannot be over-stressed; time and time again, mothers who want to donate are turned away because they did not inquire about donation until it was too late.

Stem cells from cord blood can be given to more people than those from bone marrow. More matches are possible when a cord blood transplant is used than when a bone marrow transplant is used. In addition, the stem cells in cord blood are less likely to cause rejection than those in bone marrow.
As the research into umbilical cord blood and it’s therapeutic use for blood diseases has grown, so has the question as to whether people should privately store the cord blood of their offspring for future use. A recent paper on this issue by Mahendra Rao and colleagues advocates the practice of cord blood banking (for treatment of blood diseases) but in the context of public cord blood banks rather than a private cord blood banks. Any adult needing treated would need at least two cord blood samples that are immune compatible. So one sample will not be sufficient. A child might only need one cord blood sample but in the case of childhood leukaemia there is a risk that pre-leukemic cells are present in cord blood sample – and so the child could not use their own cells for therapy.
Make sure you meet a few basic guidelines for public banking. Your doctor will give you an advanced blood test after giving birth, but there are a few basic requirements you have to meet before signing up. The requirements are different for each bank, but you can see our basic list of public banking requirements here.
Like most transplants, the stem cells must be a genetic match with the patients to be accepted by the body’s immune system. It goes without saying that a patient’s own cord blood will be a 100% match. The second highest chance of a genetic match comes from siblings.